


The Radiant One

by SatanSpawnedNougat



Category: Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland
Genre: Dragons, Gen, Original Tribes (Wings of Fire), SkyWings (Wings of Fire)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:16:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23409685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SatanSpawnedNougat/pseuds/SatanSpawnedNougat
Summary: Where a young hybrid is in the wrong place on the wrong time and meets a very special dragon.
Relationships: Aerglo & Duststorm (OC)
Kudos: 2





	The Radiant One

**Author's Note:**

> A lil story I've written with some of my characters
> 
> Aerglo is a SkyWing/SerpTail hybrid, and Duststorm is a special Sand/Leaf/Ice tribrid

Crawling forward, his snout was almost touching the ground as he kept himself small so he could fit through the confined space. His wings were stiff and trembling, wanting nothing more but to be freed from their confinement. A dragon from the skies was not meant to be stuck to the ground, trapped in a metal pipe. The cold from the metal moved through him and Aerglo suppressed a shiver. If he got caught now, it would be bad. So he didn’t have much of a choice.

Picking up voices above him, he froze and perked up his ears so he could listen. He couldn’t make out any specific words, but they were definitely on the floor above him. He guessed they were running around in their silent way, looking for him, and he knew it was only a matter of time until they found him. One couldn’t hide from shadows forever.

He wasn’t even sure how he ended up in this mess. Wrong place at the wrong time was what it was. Why did he need to be so curious and shove his snout in places it shouldn’t be?

Taking a shaky breath, he continued on. The air vent had to end _somewhere_. Even though it definitely felt like he was running on a treadmill that went on for all of eternity, with nothing but darkness and uncertainty on all sides. And death. He couldn’t forget about the death. Thick tail slithering over the ground behind him, he rounded a corner and noticed a light ahead. He didn’t dare pick up his pace, afraid that the clicking of his talons would alert them to his location. His heartbeat picked up, thumbing in his throat. It was getting hot as well. Being part SkyWing and Colubrid SerpTail, he was used to warmer climates and could easily adapt, but he couldn’t image any dragon truly enjoying _this_ torturous heat.

Aerglo shook his head and continued on. The light got brighter and he noticed that he was going down. Was that why it was getting hotter? Where exactly was he going?

He knew one thing. He somehow had to find the tunnel again and find his way back to Pyrrhia - and possibly warn his Queen of the strange dragons living in this place with their magical tunnel that could bring them everywhere in the world. That was the tunnel he was trying to reach. Which wasn’t easy for he was strongly convinced that the layout of the place kept changing. So all he could do really was move ahead and hope he didn’t run into those strange dragons. It was a game of cat and mouse.

The vent opened before him and Aerglo carefully looked out, laying down on his stomach and peeking down towards a large pool of lava and strong air currents above the lake of fire. A volcanic chamber maybe? Either way, it explained the heat and there definitely weren’t any shadow dragons in this area. So he was fine for a while. Shuffling forward, he raked his eyes over the walls, looking for anything he could use to get across towards the other air vent he spotted on the other side. He didn’t dare fly the way; not trusting the air currents and fearing he would slam into the lava and die.

That was when he spotted the pipes. Thick pipes running across the walls. Pipes that should be strong enough to carry the weight of a dragonet. Tapping the closest pipe with his talons he noted that they were hot to the touch, but nothing he shouldn’t be able to handle. “Here goes nothing,” he muttered, jumping on the pipe and clasping it tightly with his talons. Immediately he wrapped his tail around the pipe as well, and like that he moved ahead alongside the walls, jumping from pipe to pipe and shuffling talon by talon ahead. It was a struggle to keep his wings folded in, the wind kept trying to rip him open and toss him to his death, but he stubbornly held on.

With a sigh of relief he eventually crawled into the other vent, allowing a tremble to move through his body before he gazed ahead. This vent seemed to end into a hallway of some sorts, separated by a piece of wood. Aerglo thought it was a strange place to put the wood, but he wasn’t about to question it. Pressing one ear against the wood he listened. Not hearing anything he took a deep breath, pushed the wood out of the way, and jumped into the hallway. His talons scraped over the marble floor and he hurried away. Fire lamps were randomly attached across the walls, scattering an uneven light around. It barely lit his way. He stayed close to the walls, touching one side with a wing and hoping that the shadows would cover him, trusting his senses to guide the way. A puff of smoke curled around his horns as he followed the curving and twisting of the hallway, wondering if it would ever come to an end. Closed doors were on all sides of the walls and each time a noise came from behind one of them, Aerglo froze with his heart in his throat. But the doors never opened, and after a while he continued on.

There was darkness behind most doors, except one. A warm golden light shone from behind the door. Aerglo stopped before it and tilted his head, watching the light shine over his talons and give his scales some warmth. He listened against the door but it appeared to be empty so he shouldered it open and slipped inside. There he froze again upon seeing what the room contained.

It was a dragon.

But one unlike Aerglo had ever seen before.

A dragon who was trapped in a prison of a thick glass, tubes and wires kept her trapped in place and she floated in a strange greenish liquid. She appeared to be unconscious yet she was still definitely alive.

Her scales were a radiant golden and she shone as if a bright light was trapped within her. Long dark-blue spikes surrounded her head and neck and her horns were curled elegantly. She wore a knitted scarf wrapped around her long neck which almost seemed ordinary. Yet the strangest thing about her wasn’t the strange prison or appearance, but this feeling he had upon seeing her.

This was no ordinary dragon. Perhaps she wasn’t even from this world.

Then he heard voices and he spun around. Someone was heading towards this very room. He spun in circles, looking for another way out or at least a hiding place. His eyes fell on the golden dragon… it looked like there was room for a dragonet to hide behind her prison. Without thinking about it he ran over and squeezed himself behind the pedestal containing her. He tucked in his talons and tail and wrapped his wings tightly around himself. And then he waited and sat very still.

Those shadow dragons made no sound as they moved around, slithering around as quiet as shadows, but he did knew once they had entered the room. The shadows hung more tightly around the room and pressed against his scales. His scales tingled as if he was being watched from all sides by prying eyes. Aerglo clenched his talons shut and closed his eyes tightly as he trembled. He was only four years old, he shouldn’t have to go through all this.

“Did anyone manage to catch this dragonet?” A voice spoke, sounding like the grinding of metal. Aerglo shuddered.

“I think that pest is still running around somewhere. Or he died already. Dragonets don’t know anything, so don’t worry about it too much.” A second voice spoke. Judging from the silence of the first, Aerglo wasn’t sure he completely agreed with what his comrade had said. “As long as he doesn’t find Her it should be fine. We’ve spent way too long tracking The Radiant One down and capturing Her, we can’t possibly fail now or Her Majesty will be furious. We need Her light.”

_The Radiant One_?

Are they talking about the golden dragon? Just who - or _what_ \- is she? Aerglo didn’t dare move or switch his weight around out of fear of his hiding spot being discovered. So he could only listen and wait. The shadow dragons had fallen silent now and except for some grumbling he couldn’t exactly hear them anymore. But they were walking around the room and adjusting things, for he could hear objects being shoved around. It went like this for a while and Aerglo’s muscles were starting to get sore from sitting in such a position for a long time, but finally the eerie dragons left, the door closing behind them. The young hybrid waited a little bit longer for good measure until he deemed it safe and slowly got up, crawling out of his hiding place with all his senses on high alert.

But he and the golden dragon were the only ones in the room.

He fully left his hiding place and shook himself out to let his blood flow through his body again. Feeling a prickling in his neck, he looked back, and saw the golden dragon awake and looking straight at him.

Aerglo turned fully towards her and looked back. His brother had once taught him a trick a few years ago; that the eyes were a mirror towards the soul, and if you knew how to look, you could see a dragon’s true nature. And Aerglo looked in the eyes of the golden dragon, golden eyes and golden scales. It was like someone had taken all the stars in the sky and bundled them together. And he knew that she wasn’t like anything he had ever seen before, she was creation and light itself. Materialized upon the world. In her eyes he saw the swirling of the galaxies, the birth and destruction of stars and the creation of existence itself.

Her ancient gaze, carrying the sadness and weight of millennia, kept him pinned on his place. He felt like she was looking straight through his flesh and scales and saw what made him himself. Something pricked against his mind and he blinked in surprise. He heard a voice in his head, as clear as a bell. And the mind behind it had a strangeness and wildness unseen to this world, like the cutting edges of the wind between the worlds.

_You’re not one of them_.

It wasn’t a question. He gazed at the golden dragon in bewilderment. Someone she spoke _in his mind_. “I’m not,” he agreed. “What are you?” The golden dragon didn’t answer and instead her conscience left his mind. Her gaze flickered down before looking back at him again, tilting her head. He looked down as well and spotted the tubes and wires that went from her body and disappeared into the ground. It looked like he’d be able to bite or burn them down. It was easy to guess what she wanted him to do. ‘Set me free’ her eyes spoke.

Aerglo stepped towards the wires, those golden eyes following his movements. Before the wires, he stopped and thought about what he was about to do. Was it such a good idea to set this strange dragon free? Aerglo knew nothing about her, except that she was perhaps this ‘Radiant One’ the shadow dragons spoke about. And they needed her ‘light’ for something. Maybe she could even help him with getting out of here.

Shaking his head, he shot his head towards the wires and bit down hard. An electric shock went through him and he helped, staggering back, but the wires were broken. Squaring his shoulder he bit down on the others. Hearing a cracking sound he looked up and jumped when upon noticing that the glass orb containing the golden dragon was cracking. Both of them followed the crack and the golden dragon struggled in her confinement. Aerglo jumped and spun around, hitting the glass with his strong tail. The glass shattered around him and Aerglo covered his eyes with his wings as he was slammed away by the thick liquid that now covered him from head to tail.

Warm talons were on him and he was pulled back to his feet. He blinked up at the golden dragon who now stood above him, the liquid dripping off her nose and spikes, and asked, “What now?”

Her snout was curved in a feral smile, a carelessness that spoke of a world where there was no dragon law. It made him think of untrammeled, wide-open spaces, of freedom and lawlessness. ‘The storm calls you as it calls me, does it not?’ Her eyes seemed to say, amused and feral. “Now we run,” she told him.


End file.
